Diablo III Beta announced, our Barbarian waits restlessly

Okay Diablo fans (and we know you’re out there) there’s now a date for the beta test of Blizzard’s eagerly awaited hack-and-slash/relationship ender Diablo III: Q3 of 2011. Yes, we know it’s not really, you know, a firm date, but at least it’s coming right? In an Activision Blizzard Q1 2011 Financial Results conference call, Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime officially announced Diablo III beta testing will begin this upcoming Q3 2011. The game is already undergoing internal testing at Blizzard offices. According to Morhaime “On the Diablo III front, I’m pleased to report that we began internal company live testing last week. The game is looking great, and we are currently targeting a Q3 Launch for external beta testing. The development team is working hard to try and launch Diablo III this year. But I want to be clear that we do not have an official release date or window yet. As always we won’t compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window.” While we’re optimistic that Diablo III will launch this year, there’s a distinct possibility that the game may be delayed again if the stars don’t align exactly right.